I know it's a dumb mistake but...

When we removed the starter and replaced it on our Sunfire, I lost the paper
I had that told me where the three wires connect to the starter and
solenoid.

Where do these three wires connect? (purple, red, black)
1997 Pontiac Sunfire
2.4L 4 Cylinder
Automatic Trans.

The little purple wire should go to the "S" terminal on the solenoid.

Is the red one a big heavy wire? If so it goes to the big "battery"
terminal on the solenoid.

Not sure about a black wire, but you should have a gray fusible link that
also connects to the big terminal on the solenoid.

"Gary Williamson" <garywilliamson (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote

After cleaning up the wires..
We have a small red wire, a small red/grey fusible link, and a small black
wire that we need to connect.


"Silver Surfer" <h.mcguffinspamouflage (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote

I looked at the '96, '97, and '98 Sunfire wiring diagrams. They all show
the exact same wiring scheme. The grey/red fusible link goes to the large
battery terminal on the solenoid. There is a small purple wire on the
solenoid's "S" terminal. No black wire or small red wire show up. Could
your "black" wire actually be a purple one? Perhaps you could clean it
further back along its length to make sure.

I'm at a loss to explain your small red wire. Does it have a small ring
terminal on its end or some other type?


"Gary" <garywilliamson (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote

The black wire seems to go to ground. I connected the grey fusible link up
with the main power lead and the red wire to the solenoid and all seems to
work. Now I just have two more plugs to go and all of the wires will be
re-connected.

We got the car as "salvage". The owner and her boyfriend had a lovers spat
and he cut all of the wires that he could find under the hood.

Thanks for the help!

"Silver Surfer" <h.mcguffinspamouflage (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote